Talk Like Shakespeare Day

Be clamorous, knaves and rogues; Sirrah and Mistresses; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. 'Tis Shakespeare's 445th birthday! Thither, get thee to http://www.talklikeshakespeare.org

Put a Poem in Your Pocket

April is National Poetry Month. Check out the website from the Academy of American Poets. Events include Poem in Your Pocket Day on April 30. What poem will you carry in your pocket?

Inaugural Poet

Elizabeth Alexander was chosen to read at next month's presidential inauguration. Read her poetry at Hunter Library and at her website http://www.elizabethalexander.net/poems.html. According to the Washington Post, Alexander will be the first poet to read at an inauguration since 1997.

Summer Reading 2008

Publications like Real Simple and The Guardian ask notable authors (and sometimes librarians and booksellers) to recommend summer reading. The idea [I think] is that these people are in the know about the current literary scene. But what actually happens? Many of them chicken out and choose the old, pre-approved standby novels that most of us read in school. So if you are the type who likes to read War and Peace or Machiavelli while you are lounging poolside, check out those lists.

For everyone else, here are my favorite reader's advisory pages for actual summer reading:

• NPR Summer Books – your best bet – includes nonfiction, fiction, cookbooks, and more
• Slate – Finally some brave authors recommend true beach reads!
• Powell's New Favorites – Powell's also has great blogs
• Leisure Reading in Hunter Library – shameless plug for our staff picks!
• Salon has a weekly Summer Reads column. Here’s one to try

See also:

Worth Reading, a great blog, has compiled a lovely list of summer reading lists.

"Howl" Recording from Reed College

The earliest known audio recording of Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" was discovered in the archives at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Listen to it online! http://web.reed.edu/news_center/multimedia/index.html

Costa and Edgar Awards

The winner of this year's Costa Award is Scottish writer A.L. Kennedy for her novel, Day -- coming soon to Hunter Library http://wncln.wncln.org/record=b3003423. The Costa Awards go to residents of the U.K. and are sponsored by Costa Coffee, which I suppose is an across-the-pond Starbucks, http://www.costabookawards.com/awards/index.aspx.

For mystery novel fans, The Edgar award nominees were announced as well --http://www.theedgars.com/nominees.html.

100 Notable Books from the New York Times

One of my favorite lists of the year, The New York Times' "100 Notable Books of the Year," is available online! Many are already in Hunter Library; many are coming soon!



The New York Times also has an interesting article on why we read.